sewingpup

yep....I notice the shrinking more on the quilts that I did not rewash the fabric for or use steam when pressing before construction. On fabric that I have prewashed and pressed with steam, I do not have much shrinkage after that first quilt wasing I don't always wash my fabrics if I am using the same quilt shop fabric in my piecing as I do like the quilt to look a bit crinkled.

juliasb

How much shrinkage are we talking about? I have only one Idea why your rag quilt is off. The only thing I can think of is if some pieces were cut on the bias and other the straight of the grain that would make thing uneven when washed.. The other thoughts above are what I would have answered too.

Peckish

The OP is new and I don't think she (he?) is aware of how the board works. She responded to me privately and said she had the shrinkage resolved, but the issue with the rag quilt is "keeps coming out like a upside down pyramid on the left side only. It's wide at the top and get thinner at the bottom with the same amount of squares." Maybe this will strike a chord with someone who knows what's going on?

Iceblossom

Sounds like maybe it is the accumulation of small errors? That consistent seam allowance is a biggy and can get skewed by thick intersections.

Otherwise if the project has been actually hanging up for awhile, the physical stretch of the fabric can add up!

Depending on the style of construction, the simplest resolution is to simply square off what you have by declaring a straight line and going from there, trimming off the stretch. And sometimes we just have projects that finish in less standard shapes...

So hard to determine without pictures. Can be hard enough to figure out how to post pictures, but while some of us have insecurity issues, trust me -- the time to share a picture is with a problem and not a perfect project! We love the perfect project pictures too, we just have a whole lot less of them.

Good4115

Sorry if I got anybody upset. Yes I'm new to the board and apologize for any mistakes. I have all issues resolved. Thanks for all help

thepolyparrot

No need to apologize - people here want to help and you're among new friends who just didn't have enough info to help you troubleshoot the problems.

This is a great place for a newish quilter to hang out and ask questions. You're quite welcome here and I'm glad you got your problems figured out.

Peckish

So, what was happening with your rag quilt, and how did you solve it? Your answer may be able to help someone else down the road. 😊

Good4115

The first issue was it was not my forte'
the next issue was that I used 2 different types of charm packs. One had the jagged edge and the others were smooth which in turn I found out are not the same size.
you all were a great help. Staying away from the rag quilt. Way to much work. Can you imagine cutting all the squares edges 1/4"? It's really not fun.

Iceblossom

Grats to you for figuring out the problem!

Not quite the same thing but I used to work for engineers, we always had pads of graph paper around and there was a big stack of spare pads. I used them to help with some fussy piecing and didn't find out until way too late that it had 5 squares to the inch instead of 4 (which is why there was a big stack of spare pads, they were wrong for our firm)... So the ruler cut and the paper cut were just never going to be happy. Oh, I got them all together but not one of my finer quilts. Still, the big goal was to go with the tulip sheets I truly loved and they outlasted the top.

Good4115

It does make a huge difference. You wouldn't think so until the end, of course... 😂